The Next Urban Giants – Building Resilience and Equity into Growing Megapolitan Regions by Greening the Urban Human-Natural System

Building Resilience and Equity into Growing Megalopolitan Regions by Greening the Urban Human-Natural System

July 30-August 1, 2019 – Talaris Conference Center in Seattle, WA.

Funded by the National Science Foundation

This by-invitation only workshop will bring together a select group of 40 experts across an array of disciplines, sectors, and locations to:

1. identify the key challenges megapolitan regions and their adjacent communities and natural spaces face as urbanization continues,
2. explore the myriad approaches used in megapolitan regions to address these challenges, and
3. synthesize this information to identify priority research areas that a research network could promote for improving urban systems sustainability.

Your perspective, knowledge, experience, connections, and collaborative and big-thinking mindset will the be the greatest asset to this convening.

This is a working conference – attendees are being invited to not just attend, but roll up their sleeves and focus on the most critical megapolitan challenges and opportunities. Together, with fellow attendees from academia, industry, government, and non-profits we hope to build new collaborative partnerships and outputs.

The end products from this conference, to be shared widely across our networks, include:

1. a white paper to NSF,
2. a peer-reviewed synthesis journal article
3. a “Green Print” for working managers and practitioners to help them transition material from the conference into their daily work, and
4. a scope of work for informing future education and outreach products.

This workshop is funded by a National Science Foundation Sustainable Urban Systems conference grant awarded to Washington State University (https://www.nsf.gov/ere/ereweb/urbansystems/awards.jsp). With this funding we are able to cover the costs of the workshop itself, including most meals (Wednesday dinner is “on your own”).  Traveling and lodging (below federal per diem rates) will be attendee’s responsibility. Some limited support for travel costs is available on an as-requested basis.  For more information about the logistics of the workshop, please contact Brad Gaolach (gaolach@wsu.edu; 425-405-1734).